Finding Out
by disputed
Summary: Arabella is a woman who looks after everybody else's problems. She works at a bookstore and often comes home late to her best friend's baby who likes waking her up at 3 am. One night, when she is coming back from work she trips over something- well, someone. Bucky is a strange man she helps out and soon enough, she realised that running into him all the time is no coincidence. B/OC
1. Hello

Arabella Wilkys closed up her bookstore for the millionth time on a Monday night. It was around 10 pm, and the streets were empty save for the few homeless men and women she'd grown fond of. If there were ever any books that weren't selling she'd make sure to give them some.

She had fallen asleep after stocking the store at 8 and had awoken to the hard pillow of a desk. Bella hadn't been sleeping as well of late because of her friend's baby she was looking after. She loved her dearly and the two month old bundle of joy was a delight to have around, except when she wouldn't fall asleep and wake her up at 3 am. Luckily, the sitter who for some reason liked to be looking after the baby during the days and nights had realised Bella had probably fallen asleep at work and had texted her to know that she would stay until she returned home.

Giving a huff, Bella began her journey home, plugging in her earphones and listening to some of her favourite music.

"Give me love like never before, 'cause lately I've been waking up alone..."

Bella sung quietly to herself while she listened to it. She found herself more content with the world as she blindly continued walking towards her home. Only a few blocks left. She began to walk faster, eager to get home. She wondered whether the sitter had gotten Rose to sleep.

She had been staring up at the stars, something she often liked to do on her walks home when she'd tripped over. Something hit her ankle and she went arms first onto the pavement. She could feel the skin on her bare arms strip away. Her knee throbbed from the pain of it hitting the ground, she knew there's be a good bruise by the morning. Crying out in pain and surprise she gritted her teeth and turned to see what exactly she tripped over.

She assumed it would be something stupid like a brick or rock. What she saw was not a rock however. It was a man. He was siting up with wide, incredibly blue eyes. Dark circles lay underneath them. Dark hair framed his face. She leaned back,frightened he would be one of the murderers that belonged in horror movies. Had he been lurking about waiting for her? No. But he had been on the ground, possibly laying down.

Her heart hammered inside her chest and she clutched at her injured knee, sucking in air trying to calm her heart down. She reasoned with herself that he was probably just bending down to pick up something and that he was probably a completely normal guy. As she began to stand he did as well. Her eyes widened as he did so. His frame was a lot more intimidating with all the dark clothes on.

He adorned a black t-shirt with a dark jacket, dark jeans, black trainers and leather gloves. She tried to swallow down the grin she felt emerging when she pictured him like one of her phases she had had back in high school. Goth galore!

She was well aware he looked nervous and anxious, although she had no idea why, maybe because he'd seemed to frighten her. His blue eyes darted back and forth between the ground and her. His eyes were the bluest she'd ever seen on anyone before. Arabella scratched the back of her neck and giggled, trying to stop the nervousness of the man.

"_Sorry_! I didn't see yo-"

"It's fine." His voice was low and gruff, it sounded like a dismissal. Like he wanted her to leave, which was exactly what she was about to do when she noticed the way he was holding the side of his stomach. Although it was dark, she could still see the shadow that glinted off of the t-shirt. It was darker than the material itself. He was bleeding. It was a thin trail but it moved all the way down to the bottom of his t-shirt and crusted flakes of blood were around it.

"_OH MY GOD_! Did I do that to you? Was there something on the ground or-or let me call the ambulance!" Panic surged inside her as she fumbled for her phone which dropped when she fell. Before she could get to it however, his voice interrupted.

"No. Don't call them." He said, it was monotone but she could hear the urgency in his request. She surveyed him with an arched eyebrow and once again glanced at the blood patch. Was he involved in some sort of...drug deal gone wrong? Had he been shot?!

"Okay, mister. Why don't you want me to call the ambulance? Are you shot? Are you a drug dealer?!" Arabella spat out. Well aware that she sounded crazy but she didn't care. She was frightened and rightfully so.

She watched the man hesitate for a moment and she saw his lips twitch, as if he were fighting a grin. Incredulously, she stepped back and stared at him. His movement had barely changed and she wondered if it was because of the pain, at least she hoped so.

"No. This happened...a week ago. It's a cut. It's fine." For the second time he'd said "it's fine" and from her experience it was usually the opposite when that was said. A relief had flooded through her when she realised he wasn't involved in the street druggies that often ended up like that.

"Well... I'm not gonna leave you alone like this. If you come with me... I can fix you up a bit. My great grandma was a nurse in World War 2, she taught my mum a bit and she taught me." Arabella said proudly. She watched his eyes widen a little at her and she feared that he was taken aback by her offer.

He hesitated and she noticed this. His eyes continued to flicker through his options and eventually his hard, blue eyes settled on her own and he nodded tightly.

She picked up her phone and noticed it didn't have any severe damage. Forcing a small smile at the stranger she stuck out her right hand and said,

"My name's Arabella by the way but most people call me Bella."

He paused for a moment looking at his own arm and then slowly stuck it out. The weight of it was more than she was expecting, the cool of his leather glove gave her goosebumps.

"I'm...James. Most people call me Bucky."

She smiled softly. James was a nice name but Bucky was even nicer. She could have sworn her best friends dad had been talking about some man named Bucky on exhibit in the Smithsonian, but she dismissed it.

"Alright Bucky, I really hope you don't mind babies."

The walk home with Bucky was as awkward as walking home with a stranger could ever been. However, she noticed his grunts of pain had taken up most of the silence.

"Do you want me to try and hel-"

"It's fine."

She decided that that phrase was his official catchphrase. Biting her lips, she shrugged and pressed on. She wondered how he could keep walking with it bleeding like that. Maybe an ambulance would be better but she assumed he would leave before they could arrive.

Tucking her blonde hair behind her ears she pursed her lips as they stepped in front of her home. She turned the small, black gate and let him walk in first. As she shut the gate behind her, enjoying the scent of her well looked after rose garden, the automatic light came on. She heard a small inhale of breath from Bucky and he stood frozen on the steps, his back was shaking a little. Suddenly, Tess, the baby-sitter opened the door with her mouth open about to say something before seeing Bucky. She leaned I the right to see Arabella standing a little ways away.

Tess was only just sixteen. Her auburn hair was twisted into a messy bun and she wore a simple jumper and shorts. Some may have found her quite childish. However, Arabella knew she could trust her, with the baby at least.

"Oh, Bella! You never told me you were going on a date! I didn't think you were into dating anymore, especially since the last one..." Tess trailed off, surveying Bucky the way Bella had when first seeing him. She thought he may be dangerous but then her eyes softened, 'most likely because of his own blue eyes staring right at hers.

Luckily, Bella realised he had covered the injured part of his stomach, knowing full well Tess would phone the ambulance. Arabella blushed at her younger friend's words and ignored the feeling of shame and anger from the past experience. Before she could explain she realised that was the only way to pretend like he wasn't a stranger.

"Well, uh, mum wants me home now, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. The baby's finally asleep, she's like a little angel. Have a good night you two." Tess said before stepping around Bucky and walking down the cobblestone pathway towards her friend. She let a wink at Bella before shutting the gate behind her and walking home, which was only a few blocks away.

Arabella noticed Bucky's obvious discomfort at not knowing whether to enter the door or not so she did it for him. Relishing the familiar scent of her home and the look of it. The TV was left on and a few slices of pizza lay inside a box. She couldn't help but smile at that.

As she shrugged out other coat she quickly retrieved the first aid kit from the kitchen. She left Bucky in the living room while she did so. A few burning questions were running inside her head and none of which she could truly answer yet. One of them, however, was the distinct fact she was letting a complete and utter stranger into her home.

She tied her hair up into a loose bun and set to work on finding Bucky. Hopefully, his cut wouldn't need stitches and she didn't need to make too much of a deal out of it. Walking into the living room, she saw he had not moved an inch. He stood staring at the TV not even realising she'd come into the room.

"Bucky can you take your shirt off, please?" She requested watching him spin around with incredulous and worried eyes.

"Ah no, I meant can you please take it of so I can see what's wrong?"

"I know what you meant. I can't." His reply was short and final. She wanted to grit her teeth but refrained from doing so.

"If I'm going to fix you then you have to take it off. You don't have to act like some scared teenager." Arabella protested putting her hand on her hips watching him.

A new emotion flickered in his tired eyes and she recognised it as anger. Suddenly she was against the wall and he held her in a steel grasp. She could barely budge an arm and all she could feel was the warmth of his breath on hers.

"_I'm not taking it off. I'm lifting it up._" It came out in a grit and a command. She winced a little as he let go of her as if only just realising what he was doing and took a step backwards.

Ignoring the hammering of her heart she cleared her throat and nodded, swallowing down the fear. She asked him to sit down on the table chair and he did so.

She really didn't know why taking his shirt off was such a big deal. Or his jacket, which he obviously wasn't taking off either. Kneeling on the ground she pursed her lips and opened the kit. She could feel his eyes on her and a blush adorned her cheeks.

Gingerly, she fingered the bottom of his t-shirt and raised it up a little. She tried desperately to ignore the hardness of his stomach or the way he had breathed in when she had touched him.

His skin was pale and smooth and cold. Ignoring the thin line of hair that adorned from below his belly button to down there, she focused on the point. And that point was a large point indeed.

A small, yet thick piece of metal was lodged in his stomach.

There was dried blood around the edges. Luckily, the piece seemed to be solid and no corners were cut sharply. Delicately, she pinched it with her fingers and dislodged it slowly. There was barely any sign of pain apart from the sharp intake of breath she felt afterwards.

Arabella inspected the piece carefully. It seemed to be something off of a platform. Dropping the piece, she inspected the wound to see it was already almost healed, and there was no sign of anymore bleeding.

"You're good, Bucky. There's not much damage. I'll just give you a patch." She said, unable to look into his eyes. As she blushed she patched him up and let go of his shirt so it fell down to where it had been. Clearing her throat she stood up with a small smile and looked to the side of him, she couldn't bare to look into his eyes.

"Thank you? I'll leave now." He said gruffly and the thank you came out as a question strangely, as if he'd never used the term before.

Pursing her lips she did look at him now and the dark circles that adorned under his eyes. She willed herself to get lost in the blue of his eyes and her heart tugged. Arabella was about to offer perhaps a place to stay when the interruption of the baby crying distracted her.

The high pitched wails alarmed her and she jumped even taller. Her heart pounded and she rushed to the nursery room, worried something may have happened. Panic overwhelmed her and the strange man, Bucky, was soon forgotten.

Venturing towards the cot she sucked a breath in and realised the baby had just woken up, nothing serious. Fighting a fond smile she tickled the baby's stomach lightly and began to sing to it softly.

She was so lost in the bundle of joy and singing that she hadn't noticed the sake silhouette of a man watching her from the doorway, a wary and heartbroken face adorned on his face.

**This is my first Captain America fic! Really excited about this. Please give a review or follow if you enjoyed this and want to read more! Taking in any suggestions along the way. :)! Chapter 2 is already in the makes.**


	2. Found

Arabella woke up to the sun rising as usual. It was 5 30 in the morning and ply a few hours ago Rose had woken her up with cries.

Bucky had disappeared when she came back from putting the baby to sleep. It was as if he had never existed. She was wondering half of the night whether he had been real or a part of a dream. She had had a real nightmare however, of him towering over her with his blue eyes watching her own.

Scratching her head as she rose from the bed she glanced over at the time again and groaned. She decided a nice shower would suffice her tiredness and the fact she had let a stranger into her home last night.

The warm water splashed onto her face and it warmed her entire body up. She noticed that one of her favourite body washes was empty. It was lavender scented. Frowning, she decided to go to the supermarket after work. Luckily her hours were only from 8 to 3 on Tuesdays and Tess had her sport day at highschool on these days, so she only missed out on three classes the whole day.

When Arabella stepped out of the shower she wrapped herself in a towel and tried to figure out what to wear. Going through her drawers she decided to wear a beige and black polka dot button-up blouse with black jeans and silver flats. She chose a silver butterfly necklace and a filigree bracelet.

Studying herself in the mirror she noticed she had dark circles under her eyes. Nowhere near as bad as Bucky's had been but they were getting there. She applied some ivory concealer and then powdered her skin with a translucent powder foundation.

In high school her skin had been terrible but after going on a 6 month course with new drugs, it had cleared up magnificently and she had decided that she could deal with the aftermath of having bad skin and soon enough the scars were practically unnoticeable.

She grabbed her mascara and applied it to her lashes, groaning as it smudges the side of her face. Her green eyes were highlighted by the darkness of her mascara. Bella frowned at the natural blush that had adorned on her cheeks since she was 15.

Looking at her hair she saw that it was similar to a birds nest. Her thin blonde strands that usually fell to her shoulders now were stuck out in odd places. Once she ran a flat iron through it all, it came out nice and straight.

She decided to read for a few hours to put her mind at ease.

Rose was still sleeping soundly in her darkened room. Her small nose made soft noises as she slept. Tiptoeing quietly from the door, Bella headed towards the door having heard Tess walking up the stairs to her door.

She could see her silhouette against the new harsh sun and she could already tell her hair was up I a ponytail. Opening the door she have a smile.

"Hey Tess."

"You look gorgeous today, Bella! Oh, I picked you up a sand which from that new cafe in town for morning tea, since you barely ever eat as much as you should." Tess rambled, her high pitched voice going even higher as she strained of it in everything she had to say.

They both stepped in and sat on the sofas as it was their Tuesday morning ritual.

"So, who was that blue eyed mysterious man you had over last night,eh? He... at first he seemed a little... Intimidating. I can tell though, his just mysterious and all that heartbreaking crap. His eyes are beautiful though, don't you think? You've always been a sucker for dark haired, blue eyed men." Tess murmured, speculating her older friend with a look of curiosity and suspiciousness.

Bella felt herself blushing at her friends's words and chewed her lip absently. She recalled the blue eyes that had haunted her dream last night and her heart began to flutter. Either out of fright or something else. Curiosity had gotten the better of her and now questions ran through her mind freely about the man, especially since he had been brought up.

"He was just a new friend, Tess. Honestly, just met him yesterday."

"And he's already sleeping over? A tad quick, don't you think?" Tess said with a suppressed smile.

Groaning, Bella shrugged and stood up, yawning and stretching.

"Well, he is practically a stranger. So stop thinking about things that are never going to happen for me. I'm off to work now, byeee!" Arabella said, quickly grabbing her small white handbag and phone.

Before Tess could make any other comment she was out the door. The sun was shining as brightly as ever. She welcomed its kisses with ease. She only had a fifteen minute walk ahead of her so she decided to skip out on the music and instead just listen to some silence for once. She could feel her lethargy already creeping up on her. Her eyes were dry and her mouth tasted stale.

She truly needed a good hours sleep but that was never going to happen, not until Rose's mother...she cringed at the thought of her and instead focused on the ground.

At least she knew she wouldn't trip over a man on the ground in daylight. This time she was prepared for that. She couldn't wait to get into the bookstore, everything was stacked and stocked. She had always loved books ever since she was younger and her collection had grown increasingly large until one day a friend had suggested she just go ahead and make a bookstore. Jokingly, of course, but the idea grew and grew until she decided she would.

When she arrived, she could smell the bakery next door cooking something delicious. Despite her stomach grumbling, she couldn't bare to waste time and buy anything, she had customers to serve and errands to run later. She realised she had forgotten her sandwich from Tess on the kitchen table and sighed. Always remembering. No wonder she was a blonde.

The day was beginning to become boring. There had only been two customers and only one bought anything. She was beginning to wonder whether she should shut down early at 1 when she had an idea to go to the cafe a few blocks away. She hadn't been out for lunch in so long and perhaps it would be a change from either skipping out on lunch or eating it inside the bookstore.

Arabella placed a "will be back in 30 minutes" sign on the door and locked it. As she walked, her tiredness came per her and twice she was almost run over from not looking properly. When she arrived, she could smell the coffee and tea and almost cried with delight.

She suddenly heard the sound of rustling plastic and rubbish behind the corner in the alleyway. She prayed there wasn't a rat or mouse in there. Slowly, she tip-toed towards the alley and peered over the brick wall's side.

"I know you're there." A soft, gruff voice sounded from behind the corner of the dumpster. A familiar, soft gruff voice.

Bucky.

Bucky was raiding through the trash trying to scrounge something to eat.

Hesitantly, she walked over and suddenly he stood up. They were a few metres away and she could tell his attire had not changed since the day before apart from strings of old lettuce.

She had assumed he wasn't exactly Bill Gates, but she hadn't know he was homeless. A sadness took a hold of her as he stared at her. A dark shadow of stubble had made it's way onto his chin. His blue eyes were swirling like thousands of ocean waves as they stared into her green ones.

"Oh." Was all she heard from him.

She hadn't noticed his lips move at all but it sounded muffled, so he had probably said it under his breathe. Recognition laced the word and she couldn't tell if it was good or not.

"Bucky. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She almost rolled her eyes at that and took a few steps forward towards him.

Folding her arms across her chest she pursed her lips at the man.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Do you ever say anything else?" It was a rhetorical question all the same but as he leaned his head down and strands of dark hair covered his whole face, a ghost of a small smile shadowed his face.

Arabella received no reply from him and he simply stood still, just like a soldier.

"EXCUSE ME! What are you doing?!" A man shouted loudly from behind Arabella.

She froze for a moment before the anxiety left her and she spun around on her heel about to explain things.

"Oh sir..."

"No. What is that...filth doing? Searching around in a garbage bin? Pfft." The man was rather short, only about an inch higher than herself and yet he seemed to tower over her when ah spooked at him.

"You oughta' keep better company, missy. Ain't no reason you should speak to someone like him." The obvious manager of the joint said and she all but slapped him across his pink face.

He was glaring at her as if it were her fault for something horrible. She began to walk back a little, not liking where this was going. Bella could feel Bucky's presence behind her and she didn't want to get him in anymore trouble.

"Very well, sir. I was going to actually eat in the cafe since it was so highly recommended but now I don't think I have an appetite. Come on, Bucky." Bella brusquely said and began to walk away hiding the giggle of joy from doing something she hadn't done in a long time, standing up for herself.

She could hear Bucky's steps behind her quicken and soon enough they were in the central part of town. It was a large open field with a swing set and bench seats.

"Well, bucky I don't know about you but that was fun. Why are you scouring through garbage bins though?" She questioned as she made her way to the bench and sat down, rolling her eyes at the schoolgirls and boys that had carved on their names with hearts. She remembered when she had done that with one of her boyfriends a long time ago when she thought she'd been in love.

She glanced at him as he sat opposite her, his back hunched over a little. His black strands covered half of his cheeks and his blue eyes pierced out from above the dark circles underneath them. They conveyed her with little emotion and nothing else on his face gave anything away. Arabella looked at the growing stubble on his face and blushed.

"So, where did you go last night?" Bella asked, gazing at him with curiosity. The sun was making her green eyes rather squinty. She put a hand above them to hade her from the sun and he glanced at the hand lazily.

"I left."

It took all she could not to growl or yell at him. She managed an eye roll however and stared at him more. His clothes were beginning to look grimy and she wondered how long he'd gone without changing or washing them.

Scrutinisingly looking at him, she was curious to see just how dangerous he was. He had said he wasn't into all the drug groups... But how did she know he wasn't lying?

She glanced at her watch and bit her lips pensively. It was time to go back to work. She wanted to stay and question this man, she felt he had nothing but the clothes he wore.

"I... I have to go back to work." She said hoping he would understand he invitation.

Bella received no answer except a faint flicker of emotion and then went back to nothing but coldness. His chest was moving as he breathed and she shook her head.

"Bucky, do you want to come with me? I work at a bookstore. You can read or, something. If you don't have...plans." She asked quietly. She doubted very much that this man had any other plans, considering he had been looking in a dumpster about half an hour ago but she chose to ask anyway.

Bella stood, waiting for an answer and he answered by nodding slowly and standing up with her.

They walked side by side in silence until they arrived to the bookstore. Bella unlocked and opened the door and allowed herself in looking intently at her books to make sure no one had somehow disrupted them. She could hear the soft sounds of Bucky's shoes on the carpet. She walked behind the counter and sat down for a moment, checking that she'd put all the stock out.

She peered over the counter to see Bucky standing there as stiff as a board watching her. Blushing, she tucked strands of her hair behind her ears and looked away. The desk suddenly became highly fascinating.

After at least a minute she heard him move past the desk and into the room where she had just put a sign up saying 'History'. Hmmm, so he is a history geek like me, eh? She thought to herself.

A customer came in requesting a copy of Of Mice And Men for a school essay and she showed him the various different physical versions and he opted with the most popular looking one.

Afterwards, she was left with Bucky and her empty stomach, she had 2 hours left.

Bella ventured quietly towards the history room and saw him sitting on the floor with a book in his hands. It was on World War 2. A brief image of Captain America floated to her mind before she pushed it down.

"There's other books on World War 2 if you wanted to read them after this one." Bella said to him, noticing he was more then three quarters into it already.

His face was shadowed behind his hair and when he looked up she could tell he had been crying. The skin around his eyes was red and his blue eyes were glassy and even more blue than before. Quickly, she knelt down beside him and forgot about personal bubbles. He froze for a second before glancing at her warily once more.

"What's wrong? Did you have a... Grandparent or someone that was in the war?" Arabella asked softly, taking the book from him and glancing at the page.

On the left side it was classic World War Two information on Germany. On the right it showed a picture of Captain America and a small paragraph on him. What had he been crying about? As far as she could tell there wasn't much that could be related to a relative who had fought in world war 2.

A sarcastic and hopeless laughter came from Bucky and it was so loud it shocked her.

"Yeah. Something like that. I'm going." He said and abruptedly stood up and strode out of the store.

She was left on the floor in shock until she heard a customer walk in. Hopefully she'd run into him again to see if she had offended him or something. She wasn't used to seeing men cry. Sometimes she thought they didn't really have emotions at all and were some weird alien form.

It was 2 45 when she decided to close up the shop. She went for her rounds around the store and entered the history section, picking up the open book she'd left on the floor. The one that Bucky had been reading. She sighed and looked at the page again. It was the same as before. Curiously she flipped it over and her entire body froze. Chills ran down her spine as she looked at it.

"_James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes. Closest friend of Steve Rogers, A.K.A, Captain America."_

A photograph of the same man she had just been speaking to was inside the book. His black hair was short and combed back, his chin free of stubble and his blue eyes piercing out from clear, pale skin.

**Thank you all so much for reviews and follows. Next chapter is underway as we read/speak? Please review and let me know what you thought of this one.**


	3. Lost

Arabella had closed up shop as quickly as possible. Her heart was lurching and adrenaline shot trough her. She began to walk home . The weather had turned overcast and all the streets seemed darker. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. It had to be a relative of Bucky's who he was named after. Although, they looked completely identical! Right down to the blue eyes.

Her mind wandered back to the picture and she bit her lip. That was impossible though. It couldn't be him. Though, Steve Rogers was found frozen in the ice...he was still alive and Bucky had been his friend. It would explain his entire military stance and how still he seemed to become.

A headache began to form inside her skull and she pressed a cold hand to it. Her forehead was burning. This was just so impossible.

Arabella was lost in her thoughts and the pounding of her skull that she was almost blinded as she continued walking home past various closed shops. How could this be happeni-

Suddenly a hand was around her neck and another covering her mouth. Muffled shrieks came from her mouth as it was covered. Her heart hammered as she kicked out violently, tears blurring her vision. She felt herself being dragged back into what she assumed was an alley.

"Oh, look at her claws." An amused male voice said from behind her as she tried to scratch him.

She could smell his sweat and the slight tinge of alcohol on his breath as he breathed over her. Another man's shrill laughter entered her ears and shivers ran down her spine. No.

"Yell out and I'll snap your neck in half." A snarl came from the first man as his hand slowly left her mouth and neck, pushing her against the harsh brick wall. Fear evaded her and all she wanted to do was scream but she kept it in her throat.

"Does the girl want to play a game?"

He knocked her against the brick wall and her head hit it, her vision blurred and she slumped to the ground. Groaning she tried crawling out towards the light of the street but hands on her shoulders stopped her.

She could smell the alcohol again as the man kept her down. The wall opposite ever was doubled and blurry.

"Now let's get you outta those clothe-AH!"

Suddenly the man's grip was gone and in its place were his screams. All she could see was a blur of people moving rapidly.

A warmth was growing at the back of her head from where she'd hit. Pressing her fingers to it and bringing them back to see the substance was red. How hard had she hit the wall?

The screaming and shouting had muffled down to heavy breathing from somebody other than her. She almost shouted in frustration, sweat was beading from her brows and anxiety built up in her chest as she felt a presence infront of her.

Suddenly she was met with blue eyes. Her mind reeled. Was she imagining things or was it really Bucky? Although there were 3.5 eyes in front of her, she could see the uncharacteristic shine of worry in them. Nope. Bucky didn't show emotions. Her eyelids were fluttering all by themselves and her vision was becoming darker.

"_Don't_."

It was Bucky's voice. How had he found her? Had he been following her? All these questions were left unanswered for everything turned black.

Arabella awoke to the sound of a monitor beeping. The smell of disinfectant and styrofoam cups was all that she could smell inside her hospital room. Her head had a dull ache equivalent to the feeling of a bruise a day old. Her mind felt hazy as she sat up and saw no one in her light room.

Everything from the night before flooded in and she took a deep breath. Where was Bucky? He didn't kill those men...surely.

"Hello, miss Wilkys. I'm doctor . Just take a deep breathe. You've received a mild concussion." A young male doctor was infront of her bed.

He had reddish brown hair and his eyes were a sharp green. His skin was pale and he held a clipboard and pen in hand.

"Call me Bella." She blushed from head to toe at her words and scorned herself for being such an idiot.

He smirked and nodded at her.

"Well, Bella, do you remember anything from last night?"

"Y-yes I remember two men and then...I-I, someone saved me." Bella lied through her teeth. She had a feeling that Bucky would somehow not appreciate being known at a hospital going from his last response to talking about it.

"Hmm. Well, the man who did save you is out at the waiting room. He said his name was James, do you know him?" The doctor asked and it sounded as if he were about to call the police to come and arrest him for her.

"Yes I've spoken to him a few times. His a- a customer at my bookstore. He didn't kill those guys did he?" She asked hopefully. She knew by now they would have found the men that did this to her if Bucky was still there.

"No, just critical condition. The police think he's a saint anyway. Those two guys were on the Wanted list. Drugs and rape and whatnot. I'll send him in, then, if you want." Doctor Martin said warily and she nodded, smiling.

As she waited, her heart rate increased and she was afraid someone would somehow notice on the monitor. Adrenaline was shooting through her again and she remembered what she's found in the book. This guy came with a lot of issues.

The door suddenly pushed open and Bucky sauntered in. Her breathe caught in her mouth as she looked at him. The darkness under his eyes had worsened and it almost looked as if a permanent shadow had cast itself underneath them. His hair was greasy and tangled. His beard was beginning to grow and he had a split lip. He still wore the same clothes from before and she felt guilt will up inside of her. His eyes were half closed as if he were almost asleep.

"_Thankyou_." She breathed and settled her head back against the pillow, ignoring the soreness it brought. She owed a lot more than a thankyou to him seeing as though he had saved her from a world of pain.

"I should've _killed_ them." An unexpected snarl left his lips as he stood to the side of her bed. His eyes seemed a lot darker now and a murderous glint was in them.

Shivers ran down her spine as she realised he had not killed them on purpose. He knew what he was doing. He critically injured them on purpose.

She stared at him for a while as he stared out the window and into the park with his jaw set hard.

"You're, you're him, aren't you? You are James Barnes. You fought in World War 2 with Steve Rogers." Bella said watching his face change.

His eyes widened to something akin to fright and his body went rigid.

"I have to go. They'll find me. They'll find _you_ with me." Bucky said and his eyes darted between the bed and the park before turning and leaving as fast as he had come.

She had never seen such fright in a grown man's eyes and she let out a frustrated cry. What was going on? What the hell was going on? It was true then. James Buchanan Barnes was the same man she had just been speaking to. The same man she owed her life to.

Arabella was released out of hospital that afternoon with prescribed drugs for any headaches she might have. She decided the shop could go without her for a the rest of the week. She had no scheduled customers coming in for a look and if they were desperate they could always call her.

When she came home Tess was all over her and had even made lunch and dinner for her. After that she walked home. Rose was already fed and was a little angle once more. Arabella had cuddled her for a long while until she drifted to sleep and put her in her cot.

She envied the baby the way she envied all young children. They were so innocent and without a worry in the world, well, most of them anyway. When her parents had died when she was eight she was sent to an orphanage until someone adopted her because all of her other relatives passed away or weren't suitable parents. She had always felt as if she had grown up too fast in that sense that she had felt loss before loss was supposed to be a feeling.

Arabella decided a nice, long marathon of Sherlock and Game of Thrones would suffice her confusion, pain and disbelief for a little while. As the beginning of "Winter is Coming" began she cooked some popcorn in the microwave, for once not burning it. She wished Rose could speak to have some company however.

She was a quarter of the way through when the phone rang. Pausing, she sighed and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this... Arabella Wilkys?"

"...yes, who is this? Sorry, I'm not interested in buying anything at the mom-"

"I'm Doctor Ellus. Mary has had another breakdown. We fear her schizophrenia is worsening. We have tried various therapies and none have been successful as of now. We were wondering if a visit from you would be beneficial in some way?"

Arabella bit her lip and leaned her head against the top of the phone before nodding slowly. This was her close friend after all. Poor Mary.

"Sure, I could make it tomorrow if that's possible?"

"Of course. Thankyou."

Suddenly the line was dropped and so had Arabella's mood for anything fun. Switching off the television she switched the lights off and checked on the baby before going to bed for some much needed sleep. She tried to ignore the worry that nagged at her about Mary. Rose was never going to have her mother around, she realised, because she'd always be mentally ill.

Without even realising that she was tying she felt hot tears travel down her cheeks and onto the pillow she was laying on. The entire day had been out of whack and frightening and all she wanted to do was sleep and eventually it did come.

In the morning she awoke at five to the baby crying. She fed Rose as she cradled her and ignored the anxiety about the meeting with Mary. The small baby's beautiful blue eyes poked out from underneath half closed lids. Her blonde locks tumbled in golden circles that reached just above her ears. Soon she'd have a whole head of curls.

"I have to go see your mummy, Rosie. Tess's mother is going to look after you today, okay?" Bella asked the baby who could not yet speak.

She was replied with a blue eyes blink.

Soon enough Tess's mother was at the house and it was time for her to go. Giving Rose a small kiss on her forehead she entered her car. It was a good long four hour drive to the institution and a good long four hour drive back.

As she put on the radio she heard the familiar tune of Do I Wanna Know by the Arctic Monkeys and settled into their music.

She pulled up to the parking lot and entered the hospital. Seeing The large building gave an odd sense of fright inside her. She always hated that place. Doctor Ellus was a forty something year old man with glasses and a dark beard. He seemed permanently tired which was something she assumed happened often in his line of work. He was, however, hopeful towards her visit and her less so.

She was escorted towards Mary's room and was commanded to take off any piece of dangerous jewelry and anything like pens away from her and to the nurse. The room was 202 and there was a small square window in the doorway. After being given the all clear she took a deep breathe. She had not seen Mary in 2 months, just after the birth of Rose. She had been too mentally ill to be a mother and was finally placed in a hospital to try and help her. The father of Rose had been abusive and angry all of the time and had reinforced the schizophrenia. The trauma after having a bad delivery also increased her mental illness. Bella could remember the hospital room where Mary was screaming and crying at the doctors and saying things to herself that she'd never forget. She knew when she held the child instead of its mother that she would look after it, she just never assumed for how long.

Hesitantly she opened the door and felt it shit behind her. Mary was sitting on the bed fiddling with the blue blanket. Her hair was dry and much longer. Her eyes, when she looked up, were red raw from crying. Arabella forced a smile and ignored the anxiety in her chest.

"Hi Mary."

"Hello Bella. Long time no see. How's Rosie doing?" The answer was as if it had come from a robot. It was monotone and uninterested, she wondered how many drugs they'd given her.

Arabella could feel her heart breaking for both her friend and her daughter. She took a step forward and stopped, noticing the drawings in a pile on the floor. All of the were deep circles and slashes on the paper.

"Rose, hmph, Rose is great! Her beautiful hair's growing and so is she. Maybe if you get out soon you could see he-"

"DONT LIE TO ME BELLA!" The sudden change sent her heart lurching. Mary shook her head violently and began thrashing from side to side.

"Nurse? Nurse!?" Arabella called, deciding this was a bad idea.

The door opened immediately and three nurses came in to help Mary. All Arabella could see was Rose's little face and Mary's drained one.

"Sorry, I-I can't. I have to go, goodbye Mary."

She fled the hospital as fast as she could and dove into the car. To think that had been the same woman who she had once gone to school with and went prom dress shopping with frightened her. Bella just kept thinking of little Rose's face!

"God, I can't do this. I can't. I can't." Arabella said to herself as she put her head in her hands and cried out.

Everything was going terrible this week.

As she drove home she listened to music to try and stop the crying that kept on happening. Her face was now blotchy and red from crying and the tears just didn't stop. It was nighttime by then, as she'd stopped by a park and just sat there for a few hours trying to figure out what would happen to Rose. She was about fifteen minutes from home on the outskirts when a man running across the almost empty roads made her stop. He was about an inch away from getting run over by the front of her car.

The brake light illuminated his face and she saw panic in familiar blue eyes. Sweat covered his face and neck and his cheeks were red from running. His skin was pale than usual. Bucky Barnes stood like a deer in headlights (literally) infront of her car. Suddenly, she heard the sound of gun shots in the woods beside the road and she yelped.

Arabella leaned over and opened the passenger door for him motioning for him to get inside quickly. Her heart hammered as he ran and hopped in. Straight away her foot was on the accelerator and her fingers tingled with anxiety.

"Bucky tell me what the HELL is going on right now !" She shrieked as they made their way towards her house.

Had she really just heard gunshots?! Her day was getting worse and worse.

She glanced his way and saw his face had grown to a confused puppy sort of way and she wanted to simultaneously say "aw" and slap the look right off of his face. She wanted answers from this mysterious man and she was going to get them.

"They're after me. Because I...are you crying?"

"This isn't the time to talk about that. I need answers, Bucky. Why are they after you? Why did they have guns? How the hell are you even alive?!" She asked and slammed on the brakes because she almost skipped a red light causing both herself and Bucky to lurch forward on their seats.

Her hands were shaking as she gripped the steering wheel and she could see they had turned pale. Her head was aching again and all she wanted to do was see Rose and go to sleep. Bella glanced at Bucky and his expression was a mixture of concern and wariness, his blue eyes were staring at her.

Deciding she didn't want to end up in a car crash she pulled into an empty parking lot and let out a deep breathe. The only light she had was in the middle of the parking lot.

"_Please_ tell me what is going on?"

"There are people that I used to be...involved with that are after me. Since they've seen me with you you're in danger as well. I, I've lost part of my memories and I've been experimented on. I can show you if we go to your house."

"Good. Because that's exactly where we are going and you're not leaving until I get an explanation. And please tell me those black, shady looking cars over there are not those 'people' you were talking about." Arabella asked glancing between Bucky's blue eyes and the cars that were at the opposite end of the parking lot. There lights were still on and pointed at them.

"Go. _Now_." Bucky said and she could not agree more.

**Thankyou again for reviews and follows. I hope this was okay and explained a few things. Feel free to give me suggestions!**


	4. Present

Her hands gripped the steering wheel in cold fists as she finally saw the cars were not following her. The windows were tinted so darkly she couldn't see who was driving them in the rear mirror. She quickly made a sharp turn and continued driving towards her home. She'd received a text from Tess's mother telling her that she'd taken the baby home with her because she thought Bella would be home later than expected, she'd said Tess would be looking after Rose all night and they had everything they needed. Bella didn't have the energy to reply.

Bella was aware how loud and shaky her voice was when they pulled into her driveway. Her teeth were chattering but not from the cold. As she turned the key she slumped back into her seat and clenched her teeth together. Her entire body was shaking and her mind was reeling. Bella put her head in her hands and tried to ignore the heavy breathing of Bucky beside her.

A thought occurred to her and she regretted it as soon as she spoke of it.

"Have you tried to speak to Steve?"

The look he have her was something akin to loss and she struggled to wonder why he did so. She thought that if she was from 70 + years ago and there was another from the same time, she'd find him or her. Bella wondered if it was because of the experimenting he'd been speaking about. Maybe that was why he didn't want to lift his shirt up the other night. He might have had scars or something.

Guilt surged within her once his blue eyes looked away and stared out at the house, but he wasn't really looking at it, he was thinking. She was familiar with doing that and yet seeing somebody else do it, broke her heart. She put her hands behind her head and felt the spot where her head had hit the wall, she could feel where it began and finished.

Bucky's hair was stuck to his face with sweat. She could tell that his clothes were probably drenched with sweat and she could smell them from here. Pursing her lips, she closed her eyes and fiddled with her hair for a moment.

"What kind of experiments did they do to you, Bucky?" The question was asked with her thinking the worst and he could tell.

Bella saw his eyes flicker to her and the emotion she saw in them was disgust and anger. She sunk further into her seat and shook her head. This man should have either died during the Second World War or had a long life ahead of him once he came back home but he never did. Whoever those people were that experimented on him made sure of that and she was sure they had made him so cold and quiet. Anger welled up inside her at the thought of that.

Opening her car door she glanced at Bucky and then look down.

"You can stay over if you like, I probably have some clothes you'll fit." Arabella said.

"Put the car in the garage."

"Excuse me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. He almost looked annoyed and ran a hand through his long hair.

"Then, maybe, they won't find us because the car won't be here and that means that we were never here. They're probably doing a facial recognition on you now anyway..."

Her heart beat increased and she just stared at him in exasperation. Her eyes were as wide as saucepans and her lips were parted. He stared at her back with his blue eyes and eventually, after a long staring competition, she drove the car into the garage.

As she walked to her front door, her hands were shaking with her keys making a jingling sound. How dangerous was Bucky? What had he done before now?

The smell of her home made her feel welcome and her legs were so tired and her mind was reeling so much that she sunk into her black leather couch and closed her eyes.

She had left the door open for Bucky, not knowing whether he had walked away as soon as she entered the house but she could barely care.

She checked the time and saw it was ten thirty at night. Somehow it felt like 3 am. Grabbing her phone, she rang Tess.

"Hi. Do you mind bringing Rose back. I know it's late and you're probably studying but I miss her."

"Sure thing. You sound tired. Are you alright?"

"Fine. Just a bit exhausted. I'll see you in a bit."

As she pressed the end button her door shut and she could tell it was Bucky. He didn't move from the doorway and she made no attempt to tell him otherwise.

He stood and she sat in a strange silence. Both of their breathing was laboured and she was sure Bucky must have been tired by then.

"I'll just get you those clothes and then you can have a shower. The water gets hot easily so watch out." Arabella murmured and walked down the hallway to her own room. Her eyes almost watered at the sight of her comfortable looking, unmade bed.

Fiddling in her drawers for a moment she found what she'd been looking for. She had kept one of her old boyfriend's t-shirts and boxers simply because they were so comfortable. She also found some old jeans he must have had. She decided to give them to Bucky incase he didn't like to show his legs and had scars or something.

After shutting her drawers away she turned and let out a yelp at the shadow of him in the doorway. His eyes were glistening from the lights behind him in the hallway.

Clumsily she handed him the folded clothes and ignored the feeling of his gloves against her hands.

"Hopefully they fit." She said and squeezed around him to walk towards the bathroom.

Flipping the switch on she saw it was reasonably clean and at the time she could barely care.

"There's soap, shampoo and conditioner on the rack in the shower. Call if you need anything." Bella said and quickly walked back to the living room, blushing furiously at what she'd just said.

Her heart leapt thinking about Bucky in her house for a whole night. By now, if he was trying to kill her he would have done so already and she did owe him her life after all.

Her mind travelled towards the picture of Bucky from back then. He was rather handsome looking, especially in his uniform. Fiddling with the end of the couch she wondered if he'd let her cut his hair, or would he think her strange?

Bella his her head in her hands and questioned her sanity. Was she really thinking about that when they'd just escaped two shady looking cars following them and finding out he was from the 1940's?

Tess showed up with Rose and luckily she didn't walk in because she had homework.

Bella snuggled up on the couch with the georgous baby and sang to her softly. It seemed she wasn't tired for once and was content with playing with Bella's finger and wrapping her hand around it. A smile was placed on the baby's lips. Bella heard the shower running and decided to put Game of Thrones on to soothe her worried mind...

"Hmph." An obvious cough was made to the left of her after God knows how many minutes of watching TV had passed by.

She turned her head to see Bucky had finished showering. Bella tried to ignore the fact he'd still put the jacket on over his shirt and jeans. She honestly wouldn't have a problem with scars but apparently he did.

His sharp blue eyes were directed right at Rose with surprise and wariness. The dangerous looking man was afraid of a baby? Bella giggled quietly and pursed her lips.

"Bucky this is Rose. She's my friend's daughter." Arabella said and ran a hand through the baby's short blonde locks. She smiled at the baby's small, toothless grin. A shriek like giggle erupted from Rose's lips as Bella tickled her gently. Her smile faltered as she remembered something. She had the new stock for the book store under her bed and she wondered if there would be any history books in the pile.

"Bucky, could you, ugh, hold Rose for a minute? I think I might have some history books you'd like to read. They could help." Arabella asked.

She made sure to wait for his reply. His blue eyes flickered warily from her to Rose. He have a short, stout nod.

"Okay." Bella breathed, relieved he hadn't made it any more awkward.

She slowly handed Rose over in her blankets to Bucky. As she leant in to make sure she wouldn't fall she smelt the faint smell of her soap in the shower and Bucky's own scent. Clearing her throat, she went to go move his hand properly underneath her so she wouldn't slip when she realised he still had his gloves on. Hmm. Maybe he had a badly burnt arm or something? She wondered. Her heart was hammering once Rose was properly in his arms. She looked even smaller there.

Bucky's face was a contort of emotions as he looked down at the bundle she'd given him. Slowly, she walked down toward her bedroom. Kneeling down on her knees with her tired legs, she scooped out the books and leaned against the bed frame. She flipped through them slowly. Their was multiple genres and books in this pile.

Her eye caught Fifty Shades Of Grey and shook her head. There was a few classics like The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men. There was a book that haunted her a lot called Lolita. Finally she found what she was looking for. Four books, all centred around World War 2. As she placed the other books away she decided to keep a book out for herself to read while Bucky looked at his own. Although she was immensely interested in Bucky and Captain America's past she didn't want to intrude. She found a copy of A Storm Of Swords, grinning.

She hadn't heard any crying from Rose and she was grateful. Arabella stood up and held the five books in a stack. Balancing her weight and arms with them she flipped the switch with the side of her arm awkwardly. Half waddling down the hallway she walked to the living room.

Bucky was still standing where he had been. His head was lowered and he must've been looking at Rose. Arabella opened her mouth to speak when he interrupted.

"_She's asleep." _

His scratchy voice sounded astonished and out of breath as if it was something impossible.

"...She does that?" Bella came out as a question. She couldn't help it, his voice had sounded so shocked and strange.

Bella place the books on the couch beside Bucky and cleared her throat. He spun around and his eyes were wide and gleamy. She glanced at Rose and saw she was infact sleeping quietly, making small noises. Giving Bucky a strange look, wondering why he seemed so shocked, took Rose to her cot.

When she laid her down in the room she placed a soft kiss to her forehead and smiled.

"Your mummy says hi, sweetie."

Arabella walked out of the room and to the living room. Bucky was still standing although he was glancing at the books.

"You can sit, you know. They're all that's there." She said moving around his frame and grabbing her book to slump into her comfy seat again.

Arabella watched as he sauntered over to the other chair to the side and sat down causing the books to tumble to his lap. She looked away and began to read from the brilliant mind of George R.R Martin. About half an hour had passed and both of them sat in silence turning the pages of their books. The only sound apart from that was their breathing.

Arabella peeked a glance at Bucky, his eyes were glued to the book on his lap. His form barely moved as he read. He sat upward and tightly, it was easy to imagine how he was a soldier. She turned back to her own book and read for a few more minutes before being interrupted.

"Hard to believe we're war heroes."

She almost thought she'd imagined it because he hadn't moved an inch. She watched his chest rise and fall and she waited to see any evidence that told her he had spoken. He suddenly looked up at her green eyes with his blue ones.

"You are. I remember when that exhibit went up in the Smithsonian. Everybody goes there, I haven't gotten the chance to yet. " She stopped herself from babbling any further and left him in silence.

"Why the hell are you helping me?"

"Well, because I'm interested in you and your story. I've always been a fan of history. Besides, I owe you my life multiple times so I'm going to help you get yours back." Bella felt herself blush and looked back into her book to ignore his stare.

A silence settled in again and soon the sound of pages turning was back. She desperately wanted to know what was going on in his head. She wondered how many times they had experimented on him. Tortured him. She had heard of things like that before but obviously she'd never met anyone actually experimented on. He was obviously dangerous. More dangerous than anyone she'd ever met, basically.

"I bet it was nice living back then. Oh, um, besides the whole war thing. I mean, the music and dancing and all that." Bella prompted, trying to get to an understanding of what life had been like before all of the things that had been done to him.

"I can...remember some memories of it. It's all lost though. All of it." The last bit broke her heart. Although she wasn't sure if she meant his memories or his life but either way, both were true.

Swallowing, she nodded slowly and put her book beside her.

"Tomorrow we'll go to the exhibit. Maybe it will help."

She looked up to see him nodding as he looked at a page in the book. His eyebrows were furrowed.

"Can I see what you're looking at?" She asked pensively before he gave a small nod.

Manoeuvring around she delicately sat beside him making sure not to touch his arm. He looked visibly shocked as he looked at her. Despite this, she moved her head to see what he was looking at.

'Peggy Carter'

Her eyes widened at the name and she grabbed the book from his grasp without thinking.

_"P-Peggy_?"

"She was Steve's girl. I can remember that."

"N-no. I know Peggy! She was a friend of my grandmother. I saw her just last year when -" Arabella stopped herself and tried to calm her heart rate down. "She's really sick though. You don't think Steve would visit her?" Bella asked with her emotions getting the better of her. She could imagine Steve seeing her, it would be heartbreaking. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She had known Peggy for her whole life.

"Probably already has." Bucky said and looked away.

She shook her head thinking about how unfair it all was. Deciding it was time for a coffee break, she stood and walking into her kitchen, arching her back to stretch her aching muscles.

"Do you want coffee?"

A shake of head was all she received as a reply.

She boiled the water in the jug while sneaking glances at Bucky. His form was still rigid and hunched as he looked at the pages in the book. After she'd made her coffee she leant against the bench to drink it. The caffeine never did anything to awaken her, but it gave her some time to pretend to be doing something while she thought. She tapped her fingers against the bench too and yawned a little too loudly, causing Bucky to stir and glance over at her. His brows were furrowed in concentration.

"Do you mind sleeping on the couch? It's a bit...uncomfortable after a while but-"

"It's fine."

She pursed her lips and nodded. Walking down the hallway she paused at Rose's room making sure she was still alright. Gathering a blanket, sheets and a pillow she stumbled down towards the couch. He had moved the books onto the floor beside it and was now standing in between the couch and the window.

She spread out the sheets half heartedly and then placed the blanket on top and the pillow on the edge. She could feel exhaustion overwhelm her and the want to get into her bed almost hurt.

"Okay I'm going to bed now. You can get anything from the kitchen and the toilets right out the back." She said as she already began to trudge back to her bedroom.

She was grateful to see that once she closed the door it was completely dark. There was not an inch of light streaming from the window. Feeling completely exhausted and muscles too achy to change she simply slipped into her bed and snuggled up in her warming blankets. She made sure the baby monitor was working and then she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Surprisingly, she awoke without Rose crying and instead to the sun rising behind her curtains. Rubbing her eyes she yawned and stretched from the bed. Opening her door, she was greeted by a silence she wasn't really used to. She tiptoed quietly to the kitchen so she didn't wake Rose up, hoping to make herself some coffee. When she reached the bench she stretched once more, feeling better than she had in weeks.

She jumped suddenly at a loud sound coming from the couch. In her fright she had placed a hand on her chest where her heart would be. The memories of Bucky came swarming back in and she almost rolled her eyes at herself. It was Bucky snoring. She almost laughed at the nation. She tilted her head to the side to look at him across the room. His face was gentle, all muscles relaxed in his face and emotion gone.

As she grabbed a mug in the cupboard it slipped through her hands and shattered onto the ground with a loud bang. Her heart pounded from the noise and she flinched. Suddenly, she felt a gloved hand close around her wrist painfully. Looking up in terror she saw it was merely Bucky, a wife eyed, worried looking Bucky. She could feel a bruise begining to formulate on her skin. Letting out a small sound due to the pure strength of his hand he suddenly let go as if her hand was fire.

He looked away, his jaw clenched and he staring at the ground.

She clutched her arm to her chest with her other hand and rubbed her wrist. She stared at him with wariness, wondering why he'd reacted like that... And so quickly.

**Thanks so much to everyone that responded to the last chapter! Please review this one, the next is on the way and they are about to visit Bucky's memorial and Captain America's exhibit.**


	5. Safe

Arabella found herself hesitant to part with Rose again for the millionth time that week, but incase any of the men that had been chasing her and Bucky the night before decided to follow them again, she didn't want Rose anywhere near them.

After the ordeal with Bucky in the kitchen, she kept her distance and kept glancing at the already-formed bruise. It was blue and purple and fit just where fingers would. He hadn't spoken since it and the ride in the car was awkward and silent. She found it hurt to turn the steering wheel with her hand.

When they were finally inside and making their way to Bucky's memorial, she stopped him storming off towards it with her hand on her chest and directing him to the souvenirs counter.

The teenage man behind it seemed a bit down in the dumps. His face was dropping and she thought he perhaps stayed up to play too many video games. Glancing at the rack behind him, a few hats were placed on the wall behind him. Pointing to one, she gave a bright smile, hoping to make his day and said,

"I'll have that one please."

Eye droops looked at her for a moment and up to Bucky who was taller than her before placing it on the counter.

"You or your boyfriend going to pay for it?" He asked, his voice monotone and tired.

She felt a blush heating up in her cheeks and shook her head, allowing her heated curls to bounce.

"Me. And he's just a friend." She said passively handing the kid 10 dollars and grabbed the hat walking out of the shop with Bucky in trail.

He seemed almost hesitant to meet her eyes when she stared up at him. Indicating for him to tip his head down, he did so with furrowed eyebrows. She placed the cap on his head and moved the strands of hair out of his face for him without thinking.

She coughed as he stood straight again, a shadow cast down to his nose from the top of the hat.

"At least now we know absolutely no one will recognise you."

"They wouldn't be looking for me." Bucky said turning away and heading to the memorial.

She almost ran after him about to question him why he'd said that. Obviously the people from the night before were certainly looking for him but then it hit her. He had meant something else. Something more depressing. No one that was going to help him or know him was looking for him. Swallowing her emotions she proceeded quietly towards the memorial. She had lost him and that was fine with her, besides, she wanted him to see it by himself. He needed to.

She walked up to the very front and leaned on the railing, looking up at a screen just as a picture of Bucky came up on the screen. It looked to be the same as the one in the history book. He was handsome, far more handsome than anyone she'd ever really seen, besides some models in magazines. Words flashed up on the screen as she watched.

James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes was Steve Roger's (A.K.A Captain America's) best friend since childhood. He was -

"It's so sad, isn't it?" A woman's voice said from just behind her.

She half spun to see a woman in her late 30's. She had dark hair and green eyes. She was directly staring at the picture of Bucky and Arabella was wondering whether she had actually spoken to her. Bella noticed as she was about to turn back around, Bucky stood still in the swarm of crowds around him staring up at the photo. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard.

"Yes, it is." Bella replied, looking back at the picture.

There was suddenly a small video of Bucky and Steve together. A large smile and laugh was coming from Bucky as they stood in front of the camera. Her heart nearly broke at the sight.

She tore her eyes from the screen and tried to see Bucky where he had been. He had dissapeared. The spot where he had been was replaced with a young family. Bella scanned the entire crowd in a three sixty spin. Most of the people there seemed more or less different then him. Even without his hair being not so covered it was easy to find him. He always stood as straight as a pole and his face was always emotionless. There was no sign of anyone really like that.

A panic boiled up inside of her and she shook her head. She barely knew him. Even he barely knew himself. Sighing, she decided to go and explore of the exhibits until or if he showed up.

After seeing a lot of heartbreaking events on screens and in exhibits she decided to step outside for a while. Enjoying the fresh air, she decided to walk a few blocks to a park nearby. She felt like sitting down and trying to relax. Not worrying about a guy who was old enough to be her great grandfather.

Once she found the park, which was tended with lush green grass and nice memorials she found a bench seat to sit on free from bird droppings. Maybe they actually looked after this park? She asked herself. As she looked around for a while she realised everyone here was with somebody else, not by themselves. There was a young couple, about her age, a group of a younger family playing at the playground and elderlies walking together. Pulling her legs up and linking her arms around them she rested her head on her knees.

She was faced towards the road and many cars were driving past the park. Her heart froze in her chest when she saw the two black cars parked across the road from the park. Two men in suits were exiting them and looking as if they were headed her way. A chilling feeling was sent through her entire body and she wanted to cry. Where was Bucky?!

Getting up on her feet she began to run. She continued to run until she was outside the museum. She couldn't see all of the traffic and was sure the cars were following her. She was out of breath and ready to pass out. Looking up, she saw her car was only a few hundred metres down. Huffing she sighed and ran towards it.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain enter the back of her calf, causing her to hop towards her car. She could feel a warm feeling down her jeans to her ankle. As she made it to her car without shrieking in pain, she found Bucky sprawled out. His back was leant against her tyre and his eyes were closed, he was just sleeping. A rush of relief fell through her but panic still surged in her and the pain from her calf while standing on it was almost inbearable.

"_Bucky_." She half- whispered as the movement of her body when she spoke caused her leg to hurt more.

"Bucky!" She yelled tapping his shoe with her own.

Suddenly he stood up as fast as a cat. His frame was blocking her way to the door and his blue eyes were wide and yet he looked slightly confused. His eyes travelled down to her leg, her jeans had a large dark patch at the end of her calf.

"They're chasing me!" She exclaimed with panic and he immediately opened her door behind him and stepped in. She had no clue he could drive.

She hobbled to the passenger seat and got in as quick as possible. Suddenly they were off and away with a speed faster than she knew her car capable of. Bucky was a better driver than anyone she'd ever met. She supposed he'd had a lot of practice. After a while of heart-racing silence, she realised they weren't heading to her home.

"Where are we going?" Arabella asked staring at Bucky's knuckles which were as white as her shirt.

He blinked slowly and cleared his throat.

He suddenly spoke something in what she presumed was Russian. Furrowing her brow she looked at him for an explanation. After a moment he realised she was staring at him and realised what he'd done.

" A ... Safehouse." He said and soon day turned into night and she had fallen asleep from pain and exhaustion in her car while Bucky drove.

_**Sorry this is so short but felt like it needed to be done. I am so so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I have had TONS of school work and just haven't had time because I've been sick but all better now :)! Will update more frequently. Thanks so much for feedback!**_


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